


to Scorpius, he was Albus.

by loonylovegoods



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Adolescent Sexuality, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Party, Coming Out, Coming of Age, F/M, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Young Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-14 01:48:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10526343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loonylovegoods/pseuds/loonylovegoods
Summary: "Kiss me," Scorpius finally said.Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter. An odd pairing. Despite any historical feuds, the two ended up as close friends after meeting on the train and being in the same house, Slytherin. Their friendship remained undisturbed until one incident in their 6th year, where Scorpius can't help but try to take their close relationship a step further. Albus now struggles with whether Scorpius actually does have feelings for him or if it's just some bizarre experiment.





	1. "Kiss me."

**Author's Note:**

> This work is based on several of my person headcanons for Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter and other characters in the next generation, some of which can be found of my tumblr @canonicallyscorbus , where I frequently post about the next generation, and especially this ship. I hope you enjoy!

To Scorpius, Albus was in his most beautiful state at this moment. Laying across his bed hanging onto his pillows, messy dark hair shooting in every direction and sweatpants and t-shirt hanging lazily on his body. 

To Scorpius, his laugh was the kind that could make the snow melt and make flowers grow. This contagious, loud, dorky kind of laugh that only came out when Scorpius told one of his absolutely ridiculous jokes or stories, and he was thankful for that.

To Scorpius, Albus was beautiful. His dark hair was thick and wavy and messy, but not curly. Freckles like starry constellations in the sky dotted his body and face. When it wasn’t one of his shy smirks, his smile was bright and white and big and loud, contradicting his reserved nature. 

“Kiss me,” Scorpius finally said. And at this, his best friend’s breath hitched.

They and been at the Potter household for the winter holidays, ones they spent away from Hogwarts as a means to visit their families. A wave of relief came over Albus as his family agreed to let the Malfoy boy stay for a week, something he had been procrastinating asking them in fear of rejection. They were reluctant at first, shown the most by Harry, as he wasn’t entirely sure about the boy, but after a glare from his wife Ginny, he only had to agree.

At this very moment, the inseparable two were sat on Albus’s bed across from each other having a conversation about who knows what, a topic entirely forgotten by Albus due to his best mate’s sudden and unexpected suggestion of how they should really be spending their alone time.

“Uh—what?” Albus questioned, believing to have entirely misheard him, though a blush was spreading quickly from his cheeks all the way to the tips of his ears.

At this point, Scorpius didn’t have time for Albus’s confusion he had been waiting far too long for this. Seeing Albus like this was his breaking point, and he, at last, knew that he couldn’t wait any longer.

“Just-just do it, okay?” He requested with undertones of desperation as he inched closer to his best mate’s face, stopping abruptly where their lips were only a mere two centimeters apart. Yet, he wouldn’t force himself onto his friend. Now that his true desires were revealed, all that he could hope for now is that Albus shared his wishes.

Albus allowed his eyes to flutter shut as he finally closed the distance between them.

The moment Scorpius’s lips touched Albus’s soft ones it felt like electricity had suddenly shot through him. And surprisingly enough, he craved more of it. After the moment of shock had passed, Scorpius sought to deepen the kiss, doing so by tugging lightly yet desperately on the collar of Albus’s loose t-shirt. Albus was shocked by this, freezing for a brief moment before leaning in closer. Albus’ lips were undeniably soft, which Scorpius may or may not have been observing just before his sudden suggestion. It felt like a beautiful heaven he had never expected, at least from his best mate. Not even kissing the well-sought-after beauty that was Elaine Barkwith like he had back in his fifth year even compared to how it felt to have his best friend’s lips on his own, as strange as it sounded.

Before he could even realize what exactly he was doing, the boy pulled Albus into his lap so that he straddles him, arousing some sort of adorable surprised squeak out of Albus, muffled by their lip contact. But just as Scorpius’s hands went to Albus’s beautifully tanned hips while his own were entangled in the other’s platinum locks, a knock was heard at the door.

“Come in mum,” Albus said, parting from Scorpius at lightning speed, quickly running a hand through his messy locks before his mother took a step into the room. 

"Wow, you boys are out of breath,” Ginny instantly noted, obvious by the heavy rising and falling of their chests.

“Breathing contest,” Scorpius said quick-wittedly, exaggerating his lack of breath. “I’d say you won that, Al, he said, adding more to the charade. Albus’s mother looked convinced enough. 

“Well don’t dizzy yourselves too much, boys. Dinner is ready,” she said, turning out to leave the room. The boys exchanged a quick glance at each other, faces beet red with embarrassment and lack of oxygen alike, before following Ginny out.

A day had passed and the two didn’t dare even discuss the kiss with each other. Albus was left confused and on edge, unsure of whether or not that had been something Scorpius had enjoyed doing, or at least, enjoyed doing with him. Scorpius was left in a somewhat equal mess, now questioning both his sexuality and his sanity.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Thankfully, today was the day the clan would travel to the Granger-Weasley’s infamous Christmas Eve party. Surprisingly enough, Scorpius had never paid a visit to them, since Rose had never invited him. But why would she? They weren’t exactly close, though during the past year she seems to have warmed up to him quite a bit. Now was the time that Albus believed was appropriate to “bring him ‘round.”

“Hello, Rose!” Scorpius greeted cheerfully, pleasantly surprised when she was the one to answer the door.

“Oh, Scorpius, hi, Nearly forgot you were coming ‘round.” She said, wearing a smile that indicated pleasantness rather than forced politely, a large contrast from previous years. It took her a moment before she even noticed that Albus was stood beside him. “Hello Albus,” she greeted a bit less fondly.

She ushered the group of Potters and one Malfoy into their home, always warm and smelling of delightful gingerbread. Scorpius stared in awe at their home, his no nearly being as warm and festive. He typically spent Christmas at home with his father, just the two of them, but this year Mr. Malfoy was out on business.

Albus noticed the innocent and child-like awe in his eyes and couldn’t help but softly chuckle.

“Come on, let’s have you meet the family,” Rose insisted before dragging Scorpius away from Albus and over towards her own family, something a bit out of character for him. Poor Scorpius had only ever exchanged glances with the group at the platform at the start of each year and hadn’t formally met them. It was safe to say that he was nervous since he had no idea what they would make of him, being a Malfoy and all.

“Al,” A familiar voice greeted, causing Albus to turn. It was none other than Molly Weasley Sr., his maternal grandmother. He had always been one of her favorite grandchildren, despite some considering him to be a disappointment for being in Slytherin, but she loved him all the same.

“Hello, Grandma,” he greeted somewhat reluctantly as she pinched his cheeks, causing them to flush a saturated red color.

“How’s my gorgeous grandson?” She asked, offering for him to take a seat near her. Albus wasn’t the biggest on family functions, so often times he would sit and talk with his grandmother by the fire, something he secretly enjoyed, though he would never admit it.

“I’m doing fine,” he insisted with a somewhat legitimate smile. His grandma could always lighten his mood, even though his emotions were still very conflicted from the other night with Scorpius. He tried to resist the urge to look back at him chatting with the rest of the Granger-Weasleys. 

“So have you asked Scorpius out on a dead yet? I mean, You’d think with all of the Hogsmeade weekends there would be plenty of opportunities,” she whispered a bit too loudly since she was hard of hearing from her age. This caused Albus to turn beet red, quickly turning to see if anyone else had heard her embarrassing question.

“No, grandma,” he responded with a pouty tone, crossing his arms and looking down at the carpet beneath him. A smug look still rested on her face.

“Sorry dear, I forgot you aren’t keen on talking about your love life with your old grandma,” she joked, as though it were a contest to see how red she could get his cheeks to turn.

“He isn’t my love life,” he muttered, regretting ever telling his grandmother about the boy, who he may or may not have gushed about after his first year at Hogwarts.

“Hey, Albie,” he heard Scorpius greet from behind him, causing him to stiffen in his seat, hoping that he hadn’t heard the mention of his love life so he wouldn’t go asking questions.

“You must be Scorpius Malfoy,” the old woman greeted a bit too excitedly, some might say, as she lifted herself off of her rocking chair to give the boy a firm handshake with one hand while she pinched his cheek with the other. Albus buried his face in his hands with embarrassment. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Weasley,” Scorpius greeted politely, only a bit surprised as she squeezed his left cheek.

“Oh please, dear, you can just call me grandma,” Molly insisted, still keeping a grip on his right hand. Albus was worried that this cycles of torment would never end. “Al had told me all about yo—“

“I think Scorpius and I should go get settled in our room, don’t you think? Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Albus said, dragging Scorpius away from the awkward mess.


	2. "I've got nothing, kiddo."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus discusses his romance struggles with Teddy Lupin, a trusted family friends who also happens to be dating his cousin Victoire. Albus becomes frustrated as he realizes that Scorpius doesn't seem like he's going to explain the kiss anytime soon, leaving him the one who has to come forward and confess his love, which is difficult for someone like Albus who has difficulting conveying his emotions. Meanwhile, the Christmas season is coming to a close and all of the Wotters and one Malfoy will have to return to Hogwarts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I am very proud of myself for uploading the second part of this. I'm going to write ahead when the weekend arrives which means there are more chapters to come, some of which I have already planned. Warning: This chapter may contain some angsty teenage Albus. As always, enjoy!

The annual Granger-Weasley Christmas Eve party was now in full swing, all of the relatives having arrived. This meant all of the Weasley siblings and all of the cousins had come around for their annual visit. Despite this, Albus was still in his usual guest bedroom, one he was sharing with Scorpius, and was currently writing a letter. This wasn’t just any letter, but a confession letter, one that he wasn't planning on actually giving, but rather, it was more of a way to get his thoughts out onto paper so that if he ever did decide to tell Scorpius how he really felt, he wouldn’t be at a loss for words. A confession was more likely that ever now, as the kiss they had exchanged (or rather, make out session), had filled him with a new hope that his crush wasn’t completely unrequited. 

“Hey, Albie?” he heard Scorpius ask from the doorway, causing him to tuck his letter beneath a nearby book with haste. Scorpius gave him an odd look. “You know there’s a party going on downstairs right? You can’t be completely antisocial forever,” he said, trying to encourage his friend. Albus signed, lifting himself off of his desk chair. 

“It feels like you belong in my family more than I do,” Albus joked, then followed Scorpius downstairs, where the holiday party was in full swing.

Albus immediately spotted his father’s godchild Teddy chatting with Victoire, his cousin. He really stuck out in a crowd, not just from his height, but from his bright teal hair, a color he had changed it to a far learning that it was Victoire’s favorite color. Nearby were even more of his cousins, Louis, Fred, and Hugo chatting, most likely about quidditch, and lastly, there was Rose, Molly, and Lily, probably discussing grades and such. Albus couldn’t help but glare at Rose as he noticed her looking up to Scorpius, then giggling ensued amongst the girls. Albus subconsciously moved closer to his friend in a protective manner.

“Al!” He heard a familiar voice say from behind him, clapping him on the back. He turned around to find none other than Teddy, sporting his “T” initialed Weasley sweater from several years before along with a loose knee length black skirt, a signature piece in his wardrobe. Victoire stood tightly at his side, held there by Teddy’s other arm. As soon as Teddy greeted him, he gave Albus a knowing look as he saw him with Scorpius. Teddy was the first person that Albus had confided in regarding his sexuality, as he decided he would be the best person to talk to about it considering that Teddy was pansexual. Albus smiled at him, though his cheeks began to redden for the billionth time that week.

“Hello, Teddy” Albus greeted stiffly, but still maintained his smile. “Vic, you wouldn’t mind if I stole Teddy for a moment would you?” he asked his cousin, trying to hide his nerves. Victoire stepped away from Teddy without questioning, as she could sense that something was up with Albus and she didn’t want to intrude. She then began to talk to Scorpius about his potential interest in a healer career which Scorpius had mentioned upon their last meeting. Albus took this moment to grab Teddy by his forearm and drag him off to a nearby empty room: Hermione’s office. In hindsight, this could have gone badly, but Albus had a sense of urgency. 

“Woah, Al, What’s the rush?” Teddy asked in a light-hearted tone as Albus closed the door behind them and went to pace in the middle of the room. Teddy observed him curiously as he fidgeted with his hands.

“Something…something, happened?” Albus said strangely, still questioning the events that had occurred. His mind wandered to the idea of a confused Scorpius standing in the living room of the Granger-Weasley household, a boy who could be clever enough to piece together all of the side glances Albus had been given and realize his blatant crush. He spoke of Scorpius in a way that was too fond and too frequent to be friendly, and he cursed himself for not being more careful.

“Al, you’re going to have to be specific. Just get right to the point,” Teddy said, picking up one of Hermione’s pens and studying it as Albus continued to nervously pace until he planted his feet in one place and took a deep breath. 

“Scorpius…kissed me,” he finally admitted, not seeing a point in hiding it from Teddy for any longer. Teddy promptly dropped the pen he had been fiddling with, along with his jaw. 

“He what?!” Teddy shouted before Albus ran up to him, slapping a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet.

“Not so loud!” He whisper-yelled, looking around the room paranoid. He slowly removed his hand and went back to pacing. “And I mean, maybe I was the one who kissed him, but it was only because he asked me to,” Albus clarified, although Teddy was still processing the situation. “It was so out of the blue. We were just on my bed hanging out like normal and all of a sudden he tells me to kiss him. What am I supposed to make of this?” Albus questions as he runs a hand through his messy locks of hair. 

“Well, it’s obvious that he likes you,” Teddy concludes simply, as most people would, the exception being Albus. 

“Then why hasn’t he mentioned it since?” Albus questions, becoming even more confused by Scorpius’s behavior by the minutes. Even this made Teddy think. 

“I’m not so sure about that one, but from experience, when people like you, they kiss you. I’d say give it a bit of time, and if he doesn’t talk to you about it, then just ask him why he kissed you. He’s the one who owes you an explanation, not the other way around. He was your first kiss right?” Teddy asked, taking a seat in Hermione’s brown leather desk chair as he watched poor Albus panic over this misunderstood situation. Albus stopped in his place.

“Well, um…not really?” He said with a slight squeak, realizing he may have kept something from Teddy for lack of relevance. Teddy’s eyes widened.

“Well? Go on; don’t leave me hanging!” He demanded excitedly at the prospect of his poor awkward cousin having an actual love life. 

“No this is so embarrassing. Really, it truly is. The only reason I’m telling you is because I know you’ll pester me about it later,” he says, shooting his brotherly mentor a cold glare. “It was Blake Thames.”

To anyone else, this might be any other student they aren’t familiar with, but being close to James, Teddy knew well that this was one of his Gryffindor quidditch mates, and also his best friend. However, this is all past tense, as he transferred to Durmstrang and Albus’s younger sister Lily took his place as chaser. Before Teddy could comment any further on the subject of his whirlwind romance, Albus interrupted. 

“And I know what you’re thinking, but let me tell the whole story so you can save your laughing for the end,” Albus said, taking a moment to breathe before continuing this unexpected and uncomfortable anecdote. “It was a brief fling. I was helping him with a herbology assignment we were partners for and things just kind of…escalated. He’s quite the player, you know, very charming and active with the ladies, and also the gents I suppose. And then it all kind of went downhill when James found him pinning me to the wall of the quidditch locker room kissing me mercilessly and then he moved so yep story over we are done now,” he said, stringing together his last words fairly quickly. Teddy was silent for a moment as he absorbed the information.

“So…does Scorpius know about your glorious gay rendezvous?” he asked carefully and the shock was absorbed.

“I mean he knows I’m gay and all but, let's just say I spared him the details,” Albus said, now seated on the arm one of Hermione’s ornately upholstered chairs.

The room was quiet for a moment, though slightly muffled bits of chatter were heard from beyond the wall. In this silence, Teddy pondered how best to deal with this delicate situation. 

“I know I really should be the expert on 'best friends turned to lovers’ relationships, but to be perfectly honest with you, Victoire was the one to initiate our first kiss and she had made it fairly clear afterwards her feelings about me,” he started, then glanced at Albus to see how he was reacting to this. His face remained fairly neutral, but clearly deep in thought, awaiting whatever piece of advice Teddy could provide him with. “Maybe this means that Scorpius doesn’t know how you felt about the kiss and is waiting for word from you.” Albus pouted.

“I don’t see why relationships have to be so difficult. Why can’t he just tell me how he really feels? He was the one who kissed me, so why can’t he just tell me why? Why can’t he just explain it to me? Why did he have to do it if he wasn’t going to follow through? Why does he have to get my hopes up?” Albus cried in frustration, to which Teddy responded with a shrug and eyes with said, “I’ve got nothing, kiddo.”


	3. "That smile could make flowers bloom."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus reflects on his relationship with Scorpius and how he should go about addressing the kiss. Bitter feelings towards his cousin Rose begin to show themselves. Some members of the Wotter clan go on a much-needed sledding break. Christmas with the Wotter begins to wrap up and Albus has to prepare for returning to school and considers how a romantic relationship would change things between him and Scorpius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am now realizing that it is Spring yet I am writing a Scorbus fanfiction somewhat themed around Christmas. I think I have an idea of where it might end though, which is around the springtime, so perhaps this is forgivable. Sorry, it took a bit longer for this chapter. There's really no excuse since I've been on break this whole week. But as always, enjoy!

Begrudgingly, Albus later returned to the part. After his discussion with Teddy, he only became more stressed. If Scorpius didn’t come forward with his emotions like Teddy had said, then that would be on Albus. And Albus didn’t like that at all.

Albus stood alone in the corner and bitterly drank his hot chocolate as his eyes peered over and Scorpius, who was having an oh-so-interesting conversation with his oh-so-perfect cousin Rose. Her curly deep red hair effortlessly flipped over her should as she recited a humorous anecdote, causing the group around her to burst into a fit of laughter, including Scorpius.

“God. That smile could make flowers bloom,” Albus thought with complete infatuation. 

In moments like these, he envied Rose. Actually, he envied Rose quite a lot. The whole family loved her, and while Grandma Molly was partial to him, that was about it. Rose was the favorite cousin. She did well in school, was Gryffindor’s star quidditch player, and more. She had a large social circle, something Albus was much too awkward to acquire.

And he thought Slytherin’s were supposed to be cunning. They were meant to have ambitions and the skills to achieve what they wanted. Albus’s goal was Scorpius, but he had no idea how to go about it. He certainly didn’t have the courage to go for it, like a Gryffindor would. He’s not witty enough like a Ravenclaw to win him over. And he certainly doesn't seem kind enough to spare Rose of his bitter thoughts when she wasn’t exactly in the way of Albus’s path to Scorpius’s heart. He was beginning to think he should just quit and be a muggle.

“Hey Albie, you alright?” Scorpius asked with a concerned tone. Suddenly, the subject of his affections was right in front of his eyes, gazing curiously at him. A hard blush spread over his cheeks faster than you can say “Albus you gay fool just tell him already.”

“Yeah, fine. Just spaced out a bit,” Albus said, forcing a smile, and a fairly convincing one at that. Maybe he could be a Slytherin after all. Scorpius made no look of suspicion. 

“Alright. Well, we’re going to go sledding now, care to join?” he asked with that charming Malfoy smile. Scorpius’s question then brought Albus’s attention to the small group of cousins and family friends gathered behind him, which included Rose, Lorcan, Lysander, Fred, Roxanne, James, and Lily.

“Oh yeah, sure,” Albus said a positive tone beginning to rule over his speech. Albus’s slight bitterness towards Scorpius for not acknowledging their kiss quickly faded as butterflies overtook his stomach again, a familiar childish excitement taking over him.

————— 

Sledding was one of the few winter activites the Wotters enjoyed which didn't involve magic, which was very refreshing for them. Cold winter air hit Albus's face as he quickly realized that this was one of the first times he had gone outside during the whole winter break. His eyes blinked rapidly as he adjusted to the bright sky and the sunlight which reflected off of the untouched snow. The rest of the group ran out towards their usual hill as quickly as they could laughing as they stumbled in the deeper parts of the snow. Albus trailed behind, but as usual, Scorpius stayed behind with him. Albus's blush was disguised as simply a reaction to the cold and Scorpius walked a little too close alongside him, the fabric of their heavy winter coats rubbing against each other as they made their way to their hill.

They didn't speak as they walked. Although they were close physically to each other, they used no words to communicate their feelings. This was something they did often, almost in a psychic way, which James thought was creepy whenever they played Pictionary, but Albus couldn't tell at this point if he and Scorpius were thinking the same thing. 

"Why the hell did you kiss me you bloody fool? How can you possibly be acting normal about this friendship-changing experience that happened to mean a whole lot to me because I'm madly in love with you?" Albus screamed in his mind so that it echoed off the walls of his head, yet none of this showed on his face, partially because of the large scarf wrapped around his neck which covered parts of his mouth, and partially because of his very Else "conceal, don't feel" mentality when it came to sharing emotions. As Albus saw Scorpius peek down at him out of the corner of his eye, he could help but wonder if he was thinking the same thing. But just as Albus opening his mouth to say something, anything that would break this silence between the, he was pegged with a large well-packed snowball. 

"Hurry up lovebirds or you're gonna be stuck with the crap sled!" James shouted at them, and if Albus had brought his wand with him he would have hexed him right there. Following James' advice, the hurried quickly to the Sled Shed, as they liked to call it, and managed to secure a decent double, while Lorcan, Lysander, and Lily all wrestled each other into the snow as the fought for the best sled, which was long gone by the time they finished. 

Instead of just sledding for fun first, trying out different sleds, positions, and combinations of people to see how to get the sled to go the fastest, the Wotters always started out with a race. The winner, of course, had ultimate bragging rights for the rest of the break, and the loser had to take on the responsibility of putting all of the sleds back into the shed once the all finished, which was an especially tiring task after everyone had spent hours sledding. 

The partners for sledding were, Scorpius and Albus, Rose and James, Fred and Roxanne, and the Scamander twins and Lily. Roxanne complained that a three-person sled gave the L's a distinct advantage in terms of inertia, but most of the group just rolled their eyes because they didn't care about or understand muggle laws of physics. 

"Alright Albus, you have to go in the front," Scorpius said as they prepared their sled. Albus looked at him questioningly.

"And why is that?" he asked as he held the sled to keep in from slipping down the hill while adjusting it into a straight position.

"Because I need you to cushion my landing if we wipe out. Also, I need to be in the back so my spectacular quidditch bis can launch us to victory," Scorpius said in an incredibly dorky way, which didn't make him any less attractive to Albus. Scorpius becoming a chaser for the Slytherin quidditch team that year was both a blessing and a curse to Albus. A blessing because of Scorpius's VERY nice athletic body, and a curse because it made it even more difficult for Albus to hide his attraction towards his best friend.

"Alright, whatever you dork," Albus said with a laugh as he positioned himself in the front of the sled before looking down the line of sleds to see if the rest of the group was ready. Lily was put in charge of the countdown because she was in the very front of a three-person sled, making her unable to contribute to the push off. 

"Three...two...one...sled!" Lily counted, with reasonable pauses so there wouldn't be any false starts. Like Scorpius has promised, they had a considerable push off, placing them a few feet in front of the rest of their competition. Lily, Lysander, and Lorcan were quickly out of the running as Lorcan had an epic sneeze which managed to knock the whole sled off balance, ruining their momentum. Rose and James didn't add up to very much weight, so while their start was very close to Scorpius and Albus, they slowly began to fall behind. Fred and Roxanne hit an icy patch, which was able to speed up their movement a bit, ultimately caused them to slip and spin out. Scorpius and Albus cheered and looked at each other as they claimed victory, but their sled was still going at a reasonable speed, and Scorpius's "gorgeous blue-silver eyes that you could just melt in" distracted Albus to the point where he forgot what steering was, and they hit a decent sized rock that was poking out of the snow. This collision caused a wipeout of epic proportions, and the two landed on each other in the most disgustingly cliche way possible, Scorpius on top of Albus, arms keeping him hovered above him. Albus's heart began to pound out of his chest as soon as he opened his eyes, Scorpius staring deeply at him. Scorpius let out an awkward laugh and smile.

"Haha, sorry about that. When I said I needed you to cushion my fall I didn't mean literally," Scorpius said as he pushed himself up off the ground, extending a gloved hand for Albus. Albus stared at it for a moment before extending his own and allowing Scorpius to hoist. him up.

"Are you guys alright down there?" Fred asked as the two dusted the snow off of them. 

"We're fine, Fred," Albus answered, trying to forget how stunning Scorpius looked hovering above him, cheeks rosy and hair messy with snow, as he pulled their toboggan by the string back up the hill. 

————— 

The Wotters sledded until the sun was almost completely set over the hill, though unfortunately for Albus, they didn't wipe out again after that, putting him in a "wow you're totally close enough to kiss me and I would very much like for you to do that" position. The group returned to the house, where Harry was waiting for them with even more of his signature hot chocolate. The annual christmas meal was had soon after that, and Albus was grateful that his dad and Grandma Molly made such an excellent cooking duo. Although Albus and Scorpius hands occasionally touched as they passed food down, causing heat to rise to Albus's cheeks, nothing happened otherwise. Time flew by and it was soon midnight, technically Christmas day, a time when all of the Wotters were allowed to open one of their presents. 

"Let's open each other's presents, yeah?" Scorpius suggests, digging theirs out from underneath the Christmas tree while others shake boxes to try to decide which of their presents is worth being the first opened. Scorpius slides Albus a somewhat flat box, wrapped in shiny blue paper with a multicolored ribbon sitting on the top. Albus noticed the tag read to Albus, from Scorpius, with a small heart signed along with his name. Albus tried to hide his smile as he looked up at Scorpius, who was trying to contain his excitement. Albus carefully unwrapped his gift, opening the box to find a thin book, written on with metallic ink. Albus's eyes widened as he realized that this was not only the piano music for David Bowie's greatest hits that he had been wanting for the longest time but also, it was signed by the late legend himself. He looked up at Scorpius, mouth agape, and Scorpius smiled widely.

"So you like it?" He asked smugly. Of course he knew that it was the perfect gift for Albus, but he really wanted to hear him say it.

"Yes, Scorpius! It's perfect! Thank You!" Albus squealed with glee as his finger barely grazed over the signature. He wasn't sure exactly how Scorpius was able to get a hold of this, but with Malfoy money, you could probably get a hold of anything. It was just incredible that Scorpius knew exactly what Albus would want, especially since he isn't very vocal about his desires. Scorpius picked up Albus's present for him, and Albus's frowned slightly.

"There's no way what I got for you could even compare to this. I feel bad now," Albus said genuinely. Scorpius shook his head.

"Whatever you got for me is probably great. You already gave me six years of loyal friendship. What else could the son of Voldemort ask for?" Scorpius said, his words being touching for Albus. He also laughed as Scorpius paid homage to the silly theory many students legitimately had about Scorpius's parentage. He then realized that many people probably would have abandoned Scorpius in fear of being picked on as well, which was a sad reality for him. 

Scorpius tore open Albus's wrapping paper, which was a reflective silver with snowflake patterns and a bright red bow. Inside he found the new quaffle he had been wanting to practice with, one that was enchanted to make comments on the grip of the ball, how good a pass was, and how good a shot was. Along with that, there was a book all about the history of muggle television and movies. Scorpius squealed with glee. 

"This is exactly what I wanted Albus!" Scorpius exclaimed as he closer examined the two objects gifts, which reflected some of his newer interests. "Seriously, this is amazing," he said again.

As Scorpius began to read through the book, in awe of the non-moving pictures inside, Albus couldn't help but smile. He had almost forgotten about his worries of how their relationship would change when he got the guts to tell him how in love with him he was.


End file.
